228 THE ALPINE THICKETS AND FORESTS 



Lonicera coerulea, Linn. 



In the flowers of the third Alpine species, the Blue 

 Honeysuckle {Lonicera coerulea, Linn.), a very curious 

 state of affairs is found, quite unlike that in L. nigra 

 and L. alpigena. The leaves of this shrub are also 

 very different, being delicate in texture, to some 

 extent transparent, and of a bluish-green colour, 

 especially beneath. The berry is black, with a bluish 

 bloom. The flower-stalks are short. 



If we examine the flowers, we shall find that the 

 two ovaries appear to be entirely united (Plate XLII., 

 Fig. 4). As a matter of fact, they are quite free from 

 one another, and what we see externally is a sheath 

 formed by the union of the bracteoles (p. 225), which, 

 when the ovaries are mature, entirely enclose them, 

 and are partly united to them. 



As the fruit ripens, the growth of the bracteolar 

 sheath keeps pace with the growth of the ovaries 

 containing the seeds, and forms the fleshy substance 

 and the skin of the single " false berry " which is not 

 very dissimilar in appearance to that of the Mountain 

 Honeysuckle. Here, however, it is the bracteolar 

 sheath and not the ovary walls, which form the outer 

 substance of the berry, and this assumes eventually a 

 bluish-black hue. In the peculiar origin of the " false 

 berry," the Blue Honeysuckle stands quite alone 

 among the members of the genus. 



A very striking feature of the Alpine flora is its 

 extreme poverty in climbing plants, whereas our 



